Johnny Winter, along with his brother Edgar Winter, were nurtured at an early age by their parents in musical pursuits. Both he and his brother, who were born with albinism, began performing at an early age. When he was ten-years old, Winter appeared on a local children's show, playing ukelele and singing Everly Brothers songs with his brother.
His recording career began at the age of fifteen, when his band Johnny and the Jammers released "School Day Blues" on a Houston record label. During this same period, he was able to see performances by classic blues artists such as Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Bobby Bland. In the early days Winter would sometimes sit in with Roy Head and The Traits when they performed in the Beaumont, Texas area, and in 1967, Winter recorded a single with The Traits: "Tramp" backed with "Parchman Farm" (Universal Records 30496). In 1968, he released his first album The Progressive Blues Experiment, on Austin's Sonobeat Records.
Winter caught his biggest break in December 1968, when Mike Bloomfield, whom he met and jammed with in Chicago, invited him to sing and play a song during a Bloomfield and Al Kooper concert at the Fillmore East in New York. As it happened, representatives of Columbia Records (which had released the Top Ten Bloomfield/Kooper Super Session album) were at the concert. Winter played and sang B.B. King's "It's My Own Fault" to loud applause and, within a few days, was signed to reportedly what was then the largest advance in the history of the recording industry–$600,000.
Winter's first Columbia album, Johnny Winter was recorded and released in 1969. It featured the same backing musicians with whom he recorded The Progressive Blues Experiment, bassist Tommy Shannon and drummer Uncle John Turner, plus Edgar Winter on keyboards and saxophone, and (for his "Mean Mistreater") blues legends Willie Dixon on upright bass and Big Walter Horton on harmonica. The album featured a few selections that became Winter signature songs, including his composition "Dallas" (an acoustic blues, on which Winter played a steel-bodied, resonator guitar), John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson's "Good Morning Little School Girl", and B.B. King's "Be Careful With A Fool".
The album's success coincided with Imperial Records picking up The Progressive Blues Experiment for wider release. The same year, the Winter trio toured and performed at several rock festivals, including Woodstock. With brother Edgar added as a full member of the group, Winter also recorded his second album, Second Winter in Nashville in 1969. The two-record album, which only had three recorded sides (the fourth was blank), introduced a couple more staples of Winter's concerts, including Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" and Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited".
In 1984, Winter began recording for several labels, including Alligator Records and Point Blank Records, where he has focused on blues-oriented material. He continues to perform live, including festivals throughout North America and Europe. Winter has headlined such prestigious events as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Chicago Blues Festival, Swedish Rock Fest, Warren Haynes X-mas jam, and Europe’s Rockpalast. He also performed with the Allman Brothers at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan on the 40th anniversary of their debut. In 2007 and 2010, Winter performed at Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festivals. Two guitar instructional DVDs have been produced by Cherry Lane Music and the Hal Leonard Corporation. The Gibson Guitar Company released the signature Johnny Winter Firebird guitar in a ceremony in Nashville with Slash presenting.
In 2004, Winter received a Grammy nomination for his I’m a Bluesman album. Backing him are guitarist Paul Nelson, bassist Scott Spray, and drummer Vito Liuzzi. Beginning in 2007, a series of live Winter albums titled the Live Bootleg Series and a live DVD have all entered the Top 10 Billboard Blues charts. In 2009, The Woodstock Experience album was released, which includes eight songs that Winter performed at the 1969 festival. Johnny Winter is signed to Megaforce Records, who will release a new studio album titled Roots on September 27, 2011. It will include Winter's interpretation of eleven early blues and rock 'n' roll classics and feature several guest artists.
Winter produced three Grammy Award-winning albums by Muddy Waters, Hard Again (1977), I'm Ready (1978), and Muddy "Mississippi" Waters – Live (1979). Several Winter albums were also nominated for Grammy Awards. In 1980, Winter was on the cover of the first issue of Guitar World and in 1988, he was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame.
Got my Mojo workin
Johnny Winter Lyrics
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I got my mojo working but it just don't work on you
I'm gonna love you so bad that I don't know what to do.
I'm going down Louisiana, get me a mojo hand
I'm going down Louisiana, get me a mojo hand
I'm gonna fix that woman so she can't have no other man.
I got my mojo working, I got my mojo working
I got my mojo working but it just don't work on you.
I got a gypsy woman, she's giving me advice
I got a gypsy woman, she's giving me advice
I got a whole lot of tricks, baby, keepin' her at night.
I got my mojo working, I got my mojo working
I got my mojo working, I got my mojo working
I got my mojo working but it just don't work on you.
The song "Got my Mojo Workin'" was first recorded by Ann Cole in 1956, but it was the legendary bluesman Muddy Waters who made it famous in 1957, and since then it became a blues standard. Johnny Winter's version, released in 1969, is a classic blues-rock interpretation of the song. The term "mojo," in blues lingo, refers to a charm or spell that can attract or influence others. In the context of the song, the singer feels frustrated that his charm (his mojo) doesn't seem to work on the woman he desires.
The first verse sets up the problem, the singer boasts of having his "mojo working" but admits that it's not having any effect on the woman he wants to impress. The second verse introduces the concept of a "mojo hand," which is a talisman used in voodoo and other African diaspora religions, believed to have special powers to bring love, luck, or power. The singer decides to go to Louisiana to get one of these hands to try to fix his problems. He's determined to make his lady love only him, and he's willing to use magic to do so.
The final verse mentions a "gypsy woman" who is advising the singer and implies that he has some tricks up his sleeve to keep her satisfied in the meantime. The repetition of the line "I got my mojo working" throughout the song emphasizes the singer's confidence in his own abilities but also highlights his frustration with his lack of success with this particular woman.
Line by Line Meaning
I got my mojo working but it just don't work on you
I thought I had found a magical power to make you love me, but it seems that it does not have any effect on you.
I'm gonna love you so bad that I don't know what to do.
I am going to love you intensely that it will overwhelm me with emotion.
I'm going down Louisiana, get me a mojo hand
I am travelling to Louisiana to get a magical talisman that will help me win your love.
I'm gonna fix that woman so she can't have no other man.
I will ensure that you are mine alone and no other man can have you.
I got my mojo working, I got my mojo working
I am confident that my magical power will work.
I got a gypsy woman, she's giving me advice
I am seeking guidance from a wise woman who has knowledge of the mystical arts.
I got a whole lot of tricks, baby, keepin' her at night.
I have a lot of tricks up my sleeve that keep me occupied at night as I think about winning your love.
Lyrics © DARE MUSIC, INC., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PRESTON FOSTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind